(Closed) Venue Problem – advice needed!!

I am having a problem with my reception venue (at a hotel) and wanted any advice on what I should do. When we booked our venue/date I specifically asked them if there were other groups/events that weekend and was told only one other wedding. That was fine since the place is really large we would never know there was another wedding going on. Well, less than two months later when we call to start the room blocking we found out we were lied to and in fact a group of PGA golfers have the ENTIRE hotel booked (except for our 20 rooms). They knew about this group for a long time and did not disclose to us.

Anyways, we are not happy with that but are dealing with it. We have had to give up some because of this group. The problem is with the “hospitality room” I reserved with them to get ready in. I booked this over a year ago with the event coordinator at the hotel and because of the other problems we had I told her I wanted her to send it to me in writing that I have that specific room.

Yesterday I found out they now gave this room to the golfers and I have no room to get ready in. I wanted this specific room because of the location, convenience and background for the getting ready pics.

What can I do to make sure I get this room that they had promised me? I have 2 emails confirming with them I had this room. It is very upsetting that they would just give my room up to these golfers. Throughout the wedding process at our hotel/venue we have been made to feel that these golfers are more important than us and our wedding.

Any advice would be very helpful. The wedding is in less than 3 weeks now and I need that room to get ready!! How could they put in writing we had that room and then still not give it to us??? (Sorry for the long post)

You need to print off the e-mails and show it to your wedding coordinator at the hotel. Although these aren’t as binding as a contract, it’s a start. I would tell them that you’re going to need another room, or see if they can give you something else or knock off some money.

Did you hire a Day of Coordinator? If not, you might want to look into hiring one if you think you are going to have problems with the hotel again. What you spend to hire a DOC could more than make up for itself in savings in the long run. We had a few problems with our room block (at the Hyatt in White Plains) so I can understand how totally annoying it can be to deal with a situation like this.

If you have emails that specifically promise you the hospitality suite, I would forward them to both the coordinator at the property and perhaps the hotel manager. Explain the situation about the hospitality suite but to be honest, I don’t think you have much ground to stand on re: the golfers. Even if you asked specifically if there would be another event at the hotel and they told you No, they could have booked the group the day after you asked. When you use a hotel, you are totally at the mercy of their bookings. You could be clear up until the day before your wedding and then all of sudden, a huge groups books last minute. That’s just the way it works.

On the other hand, if the hotel knew about the golfers when you signed your contract and didnt’ tell you about it, then you could have justification for breaking your contract. But then you would have to find another venue…

At this point, I think the best bet is to try to use this unfortunate situtation and the hotel’s lack of honesty/professionalism to your advantage by telling them you need to be conpensated for your aggrevation and dissapointment. They need to make good on their promise per your 2 emails and since you have something in writing, you should have a good case. Keep in mind that you will have to work with this hotel all the way up until your wedding so try to keep up a good vibe but ultimately, they failed you and you need to be compensated accordingly.

My first wedding I was planning, I’m an Encore FI, I had a similiar problem We booked the venue and later they called and said they had accidentally doubled booked our venue with another wedding. So we asked them to comp us the best room for the wedding night, and lots of other things. I’m sure there is another room at the hotel that you could use for getting ready and that you could get some money knocked off etc.

If you are not happy with the sevice and have enough time I would try to get out of the contract. I second Miss Cherry save all of your emails, and be prepared when you have a meeting with the planner. Do not let them take advantage of your niceness. I would be expecting some money off, or something else in return(extra station at cocktail hour…) Threaten to cancel your wedding if something is not done to rectify the situation. I bet they will change their tune.

I wish we could change the location but with less than 3 weeks that isn’t an option. I fell in love with this place when I saw it and now it has become nothing but a headache. And perfectbound – mine is a Hyatt too…. I guess this is just how they treat people after they sign the contract.

It is just upsetting that we are giving them so much money an they are treating us like we are an inconvenience to this other group. This group comes every year I guess so they knew they were going to be there.

There are no other rooms in the hotel – every single room is taken by this group. I guess we will just have to try and cram 10 people in a small hotel room and try to get ready in there. I don’t really know how that will be possible. It is just aggrevating because I did everytrhing I was supposed to by booking this room over a year in advance and they just gave it up without even talking to me.

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. I am going to try to call the director at the hotel tomorrow and see what they can do. Even if they are willing to take money off it doesn’t solve the problem. I still don’t have my room to get ready in. I just don’t get how they can confirm this and just give it up and not even tell me until 3 weeks before the wedding.

And, the only way I found out was because they put everything in writing for me to sign off on and they just snuck the room change in there. I am sure they were hoping I wouldn’t notice and would jus sign it.

I would print out the emails and ask to speak to someone in person. Don’t be aggressive or nasty, but very firm. This was what was represented to you and this is what you expect to recieve. Period. I wouldn’t be afraid to say “We are spending a lot of money on this day, and we are very unhappy with the level of service we are receiving. How are you going to make this right?” If it were me, I would sic my fiance or Mom or MIL on them. They have more freedom to express displeasure, and then instead of you being an “entitled bride” they can play the “this is HER day and I and going to make sure it is perfect no matter what” card.

I agree with other posters, you should print out the emails and talk to your managers boss. Maybe the golfers have the room at a different time or they can find somewhere else to put them. Im sorr you are going through this 3 weeks before, good luck!